The First Person I Call
by lauraayates
Summary: A series of one-shots. Stories that were previously uploaded separately that I wanted to keep but deemed too short to stand-alone.
1. Caught Redhanded

**Prompt: Caught**

 **DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the show, all belong to the BBC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the show.**

* * *

Blinding light drowned the room from where the curtains had been forgotten about the previous night. Buried under the sheets, two worn out and sexually satisfied, not to mention hung-over, bodies lay sleeping in the bed. A line of clothes mark the path they stumbled along in a rush to fulfil seven years worth of built up desire. On the floor amongst the clothes, a phone can be heard letting out a rather loud shrill, begging for attention, the caller having called all phones in the apartment several times each that morning.

A groan is emitted from the bed as Nikki rolls onto her back. She shoots up in bed after feeling cotton sheets against her naked body. A second groan emerges from beside her, the sudden movement having woke him up. Hearing the groan that she is certain didn't come from her own mouth, Nikki looks to her right to determine the source of the sound.

"Harry!?" She screams, grabbing the sheets to cover her exposed chest and prevent him from seeing any more than he has already.

"I'd ask what happened but even I think it's pretty obvious." Harry tries injecting humour into the moment.

Nikki sighs and scrubs one hand down her face. She relaxes her grip on the sheet she is holding to her chest before snuggling back into Harry's body wrapping her arm around his waist. Following her actions, Harry wraps his own arm around her back, bringing her closer to his body.

"We'll be alright, won't we?" Nikki whispered, scared that what occurred last night had ruined her friendship with Harry.

"Of course we will," he confirmed "To tell you the truth, I've dreamed about this moment... without the alcohol of course."

"I never thought you'd like me this way" She confessed.

"As soon as I saw you I knew I had to have you. I had to beg Leo to give you a job. Back then it was just sexual, but as I got to know you I started to wonder if sex was all I wanted from you. When I realised that I wanted a lot more, I tried to use other women to get over you. It never worked. Every one of your boyfriends, I hated, just because they had you the way I wanted you."

"Are you a mind reader?" Nikki giggled.

"I'm trying to be serious here!" Harry protested.

"I meant that I had so many boyfriends to try and get over _you_." She grins wide before reaching up to stroke the side of his face, drawing her head closer to his. Harry bridges the gap, his lips landing softly on hers. The kiss is soft but demanding. He pulls her up to straddle his hips and plunges his tongue into her mouth. They kiss slow and lazy, before the need for oxygen becomes too strong. Nikki pulls back and rests her forehead against his, both breathing deep.

"You know it was your phone ringing that woke me up." Nikki says just as the doorbell rings. Letting out the second groan of the morning, she rolls off Harry so he can get out of his warm cocoon. He follows the trail of clothes to the door, putting on last night's boxers and jeans on the way.

"Leo!" Harry says, not expecting him to be stood on the other side of the door. "Come in." He opens the door wider for the older man to enter before offering him a drink, which he declines.

"Sorry about the mess." Harry apologises while picking up all the clothes, dumping them on one end of the sofa, sitting down on the other.

Before either could say another word, they hear a shout from upstairs "Harry, I'm nicking one of your shirts." Nikki calls, walking down the stairs to see who Harry is talking too.

"Harry, is that Nikki?" Leo inquires, smiling as Harry slowly nods his head.


	2. Your Choice

**Inspired by my parents engagement.**

 **DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the show, all belong to the BBC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the show.**

* * *

 **Harry**

9 months, 6 days, 14 hours and 28 minutes ago, the clock struck midnight and the date changed from December 31 2012 to January 1 2013.

9 months, 6 days, 14 hours and 28 minutes ago, you asked Nikki Alexander to be your girlfriend.

9 months, 6 days, 14 hours and 27 minutes ago, Nikki Alexander said yes.

8 months, 6 days, 14 hours and 26 minutes ago, you told her you loved her.

Right now? You plan on proposing to her.

You know that no matter how you ask her - whether you buy the perfect ring and plan every second of the moment, or ask on a whim in the middle of a post mortem - she will say yes. There's no reason why she wouldn't. Despite that, you want it to be perfect - both planned and spontaneous - you want it to be something that she won't see coming but something that you would do.

"I..." You start, as you take the pen from her hand. "...am taking you out to lunch."

"Are you now? And what if I say that I've already eaten."

You look at her accusingly. "I've been sat here watching you all day and I know for a fact that the furthest you've gone is the coffee machine."

"Can I at least sign this report before we go?" You nod and once the report has been signed and put on Leo's desk, once she's put on her coat and you've slipped her hand into yours, you pull her out of the lab and into your car.

You know she expects you to take her to the little family run sandwich shop round the corner - which you frequent every lunch - but today you have other ideas. You take her to Wagamamas which you know she only treats herself to once a month, but you figure that a change in your relationship status means that she treat her self to it once more this month. It doesn't hurt that the closest restaurant to the lab also happens to be next door to her favourite jewellery shop. Pulling her into the restaurant, you order her usual of yaki soba while you order a chicken itame for yourself, and a bottle of wine to share. She tries to protest to the wine, arguing that you're both technically still working - and while she does have a valid point, you ignore her.

Over lunch, you laugh and you joke with her, leaving her no idea as to what you plan on doing next. Once food has been eaten and the wine has been drunk, you pay the bill and once again take her hand. Stepping outside, she automatically starts walking left back towards the car to go back to work, but you - with your hand still in hers - turn right and pull her with you. You say nothing to answer her many questions of "Where are we going?" and "What are you doing?" as you pull her past the windows of the restaurant and into the jewellery store you know she loves.

Smiling at her confusion, you pull her over to the counter and say to the attendant "Can you show us the engagement rings please?" Once the cashier has disappeared into the stock room, you turn to look at her face, your smile growing as the realisation spreads across her face.

In your peripheral vision, you see the attendant come back into the main area of the shop and place three velvet boxes in front of you and open them all. Leaving you in private to chose a ring, she wanders to the other side of the shop to help another customer as you whisper to her: "Your choice."

"Are you proposing to me?" You don't speak, but you know she knows your answer as she considers your grin before flinging her arms around your neck and chanting "Yes!" in your ear, over and over again.

* * *

 **Nikki**

As soon as you return to work you pull Harry into Leo's office so you can tell him your good news.

"Harry proposed and I said yes." You squeal at the older man, hoping he will be happy for you both and not too angry that this is the first he has heard that you're an item.

"He proposed? When did he ask you out!?" You could tell that Leo was confused and you couldn't help but feel bad that you hadn't told him about the two of you sooner.

"At the last new years party," Your grin is infectious as a similar one appears on Leo's face. "I say he proposed, he just dragged me into a jewellery shop and told me to chose an engagement ring."

"Well, I guess congratulations are in order then." He says as he gets up to kiss you on the cheek and shake your fiancé's hand.


	3. Coming Home

**s16e09/s16e10: Nikki and Jack bump into Harry while they're in Afghanistan.**

 **DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the show, all belong to the BBC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the show.**

* * *

Wandering through the small village, Nikki and Jack take in the sights on display in front of them. They observe the dry land they walk upon and wonder how anyone can live like this. Deep in conversation, neither sees the tall, dark, and some would say handsome, stranger in a world of his own. Not until Nikki's shoulder bumps with his. They both raise their eyes, with the intention of saying "sorry" to the other, the words lodging in their throats as they each register the person in front of them.

"Nikki?" The man says, his face covered in disbelief.

"Harry?" A thousand thoughts race around the blonde's brain. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in New York?"

"I am. Well, I was. They sent me for a research paper." He tells her, taking her hand in his, smiling inwardly when she doesn't retract. "I missed you."

"I-" She tries to tell him she missed him too, but is cut off as Jack steps forward.

"Nikki? We should be getting back to Leo. He'll be wonder where we are."

She nods at him before turning back to Harry. "Come with us? I'm sure Leo would be happy to see you."

"Of course" He smiles and leans closer "Who's the clown?"

"Clown? Be nice Harry. Someone had to replace you."

With her hand clutched in his, she pulls him in the direction she and Jack had been walking, her conversation with Jack now long forgotten. "So what's the research on?"

"Eh, that's classified." She lights up as she watches his face brighten with the cheeky grin she missed so much.

"I missed that grin of yours. You know it's a lot quieter without you back at the lab."

"Are you saying you miss me?"

"Of course I did. I thought we were ready, you know. Before you left, I thought we were ready to take that step."

He sighs as she brings up the topic of them. One they had danced around so many times before. "I know. I did too, but I couldn't let the offer pass this time, you know it's what I've always wanted."

"I know, but you could have called, or emailed. Hell, even sent me a postcard. Anything to at least me you were still alive. It was like you had died or dropped off of the face of the earth." She halts in her tracks. Harry stops beside her - and Jack a few paces ahead once he's realised they've both stopped - and turns to face her.

"I know and I'm sorry," Reaching out to her, Harry takes her face in his hands, thumbs caressing her cheeks, wiping the tears that are starting to fall. "It was just too painful. I didn't want to leave you and I knew if I contacted you, I would be pulled back to London, I would give up everything for you Nikki."

She stands frozen to the spot as he pulls her face to his and connects their lips, not for the first time. His mind runs back to the small pub just outside of London. He's back in the booth by the fire, a bottle of wine sat on the table as she rambles about prunes or grapes, he's not quite sure, all his focus is on how beautiful she is, how much he wants to kiss her. So he does, much like he is now. After a few seconds of unresponsiveness she starts to move her lips against his, reaching up to run her hands through his hair.

They're brought back to reality as Jack approaches them and clears his throat. "Nikki?"

"Sorry, Jack. Erm, this is Harry, the one you replaced at the Lyell centre." She tells him, face flushed.

"I gathered that." He states, arms crossed in front of him. "We should get going."

* * *

When they reach their improvised lab, Jack enters without hesitation, but Harry pulls Nikki back, nervous about seeing Leo again.

"Are you nervous Harry?" Nikki giggles at him. "You'll be fine. He's missed you too," She leans forwards and plants a quick kiss to his lips. "Just don't tell him I said that."

Harry nods and takes a deep breathe. he allows Nikki to pull him through the door. The older man snaps his head up as he hears not one set of foot steps, like he expected, but two.

"Harry?" He rips the latex gloves from his hands, throwing them in the bin on his way past.

"Before you ask, I'm here for a research paper I'm writing for the university."

"I wasn't going to ask. What I do want to know is…" He trails off, starring pointedly at Harry and Nikki's hands, fingers still entwined.

"Oh, well, we haven't really talked about it, but I guess we should." Nikki suddenly finds interest in a spot on the floor in front of her, knowing that it could never amount to anything, not with 3472 miles between them.

"Have you told her yet?" Her head snaps up at Leo's words. _Has he told me what?_

Harry shakes his head at Leo "No, I haven't had the chance. Do you mind giving us some privacy so I can?"

"Of course. Jack?" He motions with his head towards a door at the back of the room.

Once they're out of the room and the door is shut firmly behind them, Harry turns and takes both of Nikki's hands in his. "The university in New York that I work for now, they need a liaison in their lab in London and since I'm the only one on the team that knows London, they want me to take the position."

This worries Nikki to no end - London is a big place - the evidence is plastered across her face. "Where's their lab?"

"The second floor of the Lyell centre. You know the lab we always used to say was an alien lab?" At the mention of the Lyell centre, her face lights up.

"You're coming home?"

He nods as he brings his head forwards and rests his forehead against hers. "I'm coming home."


	4. A Stupid Mistake

**What would Leo's life be like if Cassie and Theresa hadn't been killed in Ghosts? This is a little look at a scene from s12e01/s12e02 'Safe' if Theresa was still alive and had visited them at the lab.**

 **DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the show, all belong to the BBC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the show.**

* * *

"DUI." Leo tells Harry and Nikki as they stand around the large table in the layout room.

"Drunk driving?" Nikki can barely believe what he's saying. She can barely believe that a man like Leo, a man who works with the police on a daily basis - a professor no less - would get arrested for drunk driving.

He nods his head slightly. "They've given me 40 hours community service."

"40 hours!?" Harry exclaims. "I have to get the name of his lawyer." He reaches out and turns the page in front of Nikki towards himself slightly. "Is that the tox report?"

"Yeah." Nikki tells him before turning back to Leo. "And you didn't think you could tell us?"

"No." He says quietly. He reminds her of a scared little boy getting told off by his parents for stealing the last cookie from the jar.

"To keep it a secret?"

"Oh no, we don't have any secrets do we?" She senses the smirk on Harry's face without even looking - he's loving this.

"Well, I just don't understand." She says, turning to Harry.

"There's no way he's going to tell us, he's our boss. It would undermine his authority, it would diminish his moral superiority. He wouldn't be able to think he was right all the time…"

"Ah ok." Nikki interrupts him.

"…something which, I hazard a guess, he's really going to miss."

"I'm beginning to understand a bit better." A smile finally graces her face.

"Good god Leo, almost makes you human." He steps closer and leans over her to look at the tox report. "What does this say?"

"He'd been drinking." Nikki tells them.

"How old was he?"

"14?" Harry says, his voice rising slightly as if he was asking rather than answering.

"In the middle of the day?" Leo asks.

She flicks her eyes to Leo as Harry says "Can you afford to be sanctimonious?"

"Sanctimonious about what?" The three of them turn to the door as a new voice enters the room.

"Leo was arrested and given 40 hours community service for drunk driving." Harry tells Leo's wife, Theresa. She steps into the room, and goes to stand next to Leo, accepting a kiss on the cheek from Harry and a friendly squeeze of the arm from Nikki on her way past them.

"Drunk driving? When?" She slips her arm around Leo and pecks him on the lips. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Look… I was just over. It was a stupid mistake."

"Most mistakes are stupid by their nature." Harry says, shaking his head.

"Monoacetylmorphine, cocaine, codeine." Nikki says, trying to steer the conversation back towards the case.

"Crack and smack."

"You should have told us." Theresa says, turning to her husband. "It's not as if you killed a man… You didn't, did you?"

"No. I was ashamed." Leo told her, pulling her closer.

"So you should be." Harry says without taking his eyes of the report.

"I'm sorry." Leo turns towards Harry and Nikki. "I'm sorry for all of it."

"It was a very stupid thing to do."

"Listen, can we just draw a line under this, please?" Leo begs.

"Absolutely not." Theresa says, her eyes just as mischievous as Harry's are. Nikki giggles, turning to bury her head in Harry's shoulder in an vain attempt to muffle them, as detective Wallace enters the room.

"Am I interrupting something here?"

"Only the three of us grilling my husband here for not telling us about his DUI." Theresa tells the new face. "I find it quite exhilarating to be married to a criminal. Listen, I only dropped by to invite Nikki out for drinks tonight," She turns to the woman in question "if you're free?"

"Absolutely. I'll call you when I finish."

"Great. I'll let you get back to work." She pecks Leo on the cheek and leaves the room, smirking as she hears her husband groan in frustration.

"I should never have told you." He mutters, the words only just decipherable to her.


	5. H For Harry

**I don't remember where now, but I read somewhere that Emilia Fox has a heart tattooed on the inside of her middle finger on her left hand. This stemmed from that piece of information. Set during that promotion pic of the deleted scene we got for 'And Then I Fell in Love'.**

 **DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the show, all belong to the BBC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the show.**

* * *

Pulling your car into your drive, you frown briefly as you see another car in front of yours. The small crease in your forehead is quickly wiped away as you recognise the car and remember fondly why it is there in the first place. Harry Cunningham, your best friend, your secret love. His flat was blown up not two days ago meaning he was homeless until it could be fixed. You took pity on him, ignoring the fact that living in the same house as him for any length of time could be potentially dangerous for your relationship but you don't care. He needed a place to stay and you have a spare room. It's what best friends are for and you're pretty sure he would find room in his flat for you if the roles were reversed.

Walking up to your front door, you take the spare key from behind the star on the wall and unlock the door. You're hit with a frenzy of aromas as you step inside the house and slip off your shoes. A smile breaks out across your face as you see Harry stood in the kitchen trying to work out where you keep everything. You spy the freshly cooked, golden chicken on the counter and you guess he's looking for a knife sharp enough to carve the bird. "Carving knives are on the wall in the pantry." You say, giggling slightly as he turns around, shocked at your sudden appearance, obviously not expecting you home from work just yet.

You watch as he disappears through a door to your left and reappears seconds later, brandishing one of the larger carving knives you own, looking oddly like a psycho or mad scientist - maybe both. "Thank you." He mutters in your direction, turning to carve the chicken, for what you assume is your supper, before turning back to you with a frown on his face. "What are you doing home? I thought all that paper work would keep you for at least another hour. I planned to surprise you with dinner on the table when you got in..."

"Sorry to disappoint but Leo took pity on me and did half of my work for me."

"He offered to do your work? He never offers to do mine!" You see the mock outrage etched across his face, knowing that he isn't really mad with your boss.

"Well you always leave work to the last minute. I always get mine done as soon as possible, even if it means staying late. Unlike you, I don't like leaving my work to the last minute."

"I don't leave it to the last minute!"

"That's why you stayed at the lab until almost midnight last week to finish your paper work for last months deadline."

"Stop insulting me and make yourself useful." He jokes as you giggle at his feeble attempt to argue with you.

"Where do you want me?" You know he can see the double meaning behind this but you don't care. You're sick of always skirting around the issue.

"In the living room with your feet up." He tells you, seriously this time but you flat out refuse to let him do all the work. He's in your house, he's your guest, it should be you doing the cooking and the cleaning, not him. You tell him this but he still tries to refuse your help. You stand there and stare at him, knowing he's bound to get either uncomfortable under your gaze or bored and let you help. Ten minutes later you're told to prepare a salad for the two of you.

Doing as you're told, you pad across to the fridge in search of lettuce, tomatoes and whatever else you have that could go in a salad. You pull all you need out and find a space close to Harry that isn't already occupied by dirt or other food that Harry has cooked that afternoon. Silence lingers in the air as you don't know what to say to the man pressed tightly to your side. Your elbows knock together many times as he carves the chicken and you slice the tomatoes.

You feel his eyes follow your movements across the kitchen to the sink where you wash the lettuce. You feel his presence behind you as you pass by the fridge to finish preparing the salad. You don't quite get to where you were stood before as Harry takes your wrists in his hands and presses you firmly against the fridge. You stare right into his eyes and watch as his flick down to the wide smile currently occupying your face. You see the corners of his mouth twitch as he fights a smile not dissimilar to your own. You're suddenly aware of his breath, whispering across your lips and know what's coming next. At least you thought you did.

You expected his lips to crash against your own. You expected your dreams to come true.

You didn't expect him to turn his head at the last minute and whisper "What does the 'H' stand for?"

Confusion is your first feeling as you wonder what the hell he is talking about. Then you remember everything that happened 10 years ago. You remember the affair you had with a married man. You remember how happy you were when you found out you were pregnant. You remember your heart breaking into a million little pieces as the doctor told you that you had had a miscarriage.

You look down at your left hand and study the small tattoo that sits on the inside of your middle finger. "It stands for Harry." You know as soon as you say those four words he will take it the wrong way, but you don't care.

"You have a 'H', in a heart, on your hand, that stands for Harry?" You know he is confused as to why you have his name, permanently written on your skin, but what he doesn't know is that it really wasn't meant to be his name. Putting him out of his misery, your begin your tale.

"It was 2 years before I met you. I had been working in the anthropology department at the university for three months and I fell in love. He was a colleague at the time. I knew he was married and trying for children with his wife. I knew that what I did was stupid but I didn't care. I loved him. We had been having an affair for a month when I found out I was pregnant. I was so happy. I had always wanted to be a mother and it was finally happening. Everything was going so well, we were both healthy, me and my little boy. When we found out it was a boy, we went through every name we could think of but it was the only one I loved. We were going to call him Harry. Even the doctor was shocked when it happened. I had a miscarriage. He left me when I told him. I thought he loved me but it turned out he was just with me for the sex. It was just temporary. Then I got pregnant and he knew it would make him look bad if he left me, so he stayed. I would have understood, but he thought it better to stick around and break my heart later rather then sooner."

You feel Harry's thumb swipe across your cheeks as he wipes away the tears that leaked from your eyes. As he releases your wrists to pull you into his arms, you're shocked slightly. You thought he would be disgusted at you for having an affair with a married man. You relax and collapse into his arms, more tears running down your face.

"Nikki." He whispers "I am so sorry."

"I'm ok. It was 10 years ago."

"Still, he was your child. It couldn't have been easy for you."

"It wasn't. It was even worse when I met you because you have the same name but then I fell in love again, the tattoo became a reminder of that love instead of a reminder of my pain." You smile as once again, confusion his etched across his face. "I fell in love with you."


	6. Don't I Know You?

**This is set during Nowhere Fast when Harry and Leo first meet Nikki. Only here, Harry and Nikki have been dating for about 9 months before they officially "meet".**

 **DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the show, all belong to the BBC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the show.**

* * *

"Harry!" Nikki giggles as Harry lazily presses kisses to her neck while she, with her back to him, looks over the many bones in front of her once more. "Not here. We said we wouldn't tell Leo while I'm here and that means no kissing," Harry ignores this and starts to run his hand down her side and up the front of her shirt "Or inappropriate touching".

"Come on Nikki, humour me. It's not every day that my incredibly beautiful girlfriend comes to work with me. You're usually the other side of the campus and I'm lucky to see you at all during the day." Harry argued, knowing he wasn't going to win this round.

Planting a quick kiss on his lips, Nikki shooed him out of the mortuary just seconds before his boss Professor Leo Dalton entered from the opposite end. "I thought I heard voices in here. Who are you?"

"I'm Nikki." She smiled at the older man "I'm from the archaeology department. We haven't got the software you have for facial reconstruction and professor Hegarty said you wouldn't mind."

"Ok…" The professor faltered. He knew it would do his department good to cooperate with the other department and let Nikki continue her work here. "Well, yes you can use our software. However, I cannot allow you to keep your bones in here, we need this space free for any cases we may get."

"I understand. Is there anywhere else I can keep them?"

"Yes, upstairs in the lab. I'm sure Harry won't mind you using his desk. It's not as if he uses it much anyway."

"Thank you professor. Who's Harry?" Nikki asked, knowing full well who the man in question was, probably more than the man in front of her knew him.

"My colleague. Come upstairs and I'll introduce you, then I'll get him to help you bring these bones up."

* * *

"Harry?" Leo asked as he led Nikki into the lab to find Harry throwing screwed up bits of paper into a bin and missing. _Just like every other time he has attempted to do the same_ , Nikki thought as she surveyed the floor around him.

"What can I do for you, almighty leader? Who's this?" Harry asked, feigning ignorance.

"This is Nikki. She's from the archaeology department and wants to use our facial reconstruction software. I said she could keep her bones on your desk and that you'd help her carry the bones up here from the mortuary." Leo told him, "Oh and er... clean all this up when you're done." He added before turning to leave.

Nikki let out a giggle as Harry gave Leo a salute behind his back before going over to kiss Harry. "Looks like we're sharing a desk." Nikki said as she drew away from him.

"There's only one chair."

"You can sit on the floor." Harry shook his head before following Nikki out of the lab and into the mortuary so he could help her move the bones.

* * *

"So what are you doing in this department again?" Harry asked as he stood over her shoulder looking at what she was doing "and how do you know how to use that? I've been trying for years to do it but it's impossible!"

"I told you last night why I'm here." Nikki told him.

"Last night I was a little pre-occupied to listen to what you were saying."

"Well it's not my fault you can't resist me."

"Well it's not my fault you're beautifully sexy." He said as he dropped a kiss to her shoulder, neither of them seeing Leo walk in at that very moment.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Leo says at what seems to be the top of his voice, as he sees Nikki wrapped in Harry's arms while the younger man drops a tender kiss to the young woman's shoulder.

"Erm…" Harry stutters trying to find an answer to his bosses question without telling him the truth, slowly coming to the realisation that it was useless lying as it was obvious that he heard everything that had just been said. "Look, Leo, me and Nikki... we... met when you sent me on that conference to York last year. She was there representing her department and when we found out that we both lived in the same area of London, we exchanged numbers and arrange to meet up for coffee a few weeks later. We've been dating for about 9 months now."

"And you didn't think to tell me when you realised that Nikki was to be working along side upon here!?" The professor couldn't believe what his younger colleague was telling him.

"I know we should have told you earlier when you 'introduced us' but we figured that I wouldn't be here long and that as long as we were careful not to get caught, then there would be no need to tell you as it was unlikely that our paths would cross again." Nikki cut in, reminding both her lover and her lover's boss that she was still in the room with them.

"It's ok. I'm happy that Harry has finally found someone that makes him happy." Leo said to Nikki, before turning to Harry "I just wish you'd told me sooner."

* * *

The next morning made it obvious to Leo that Harry and Nikki were in fact serious about each other and living together as he sat in his office and watched the two walk into the lab hand in hand.

"Arriving together now are we?" Leo called out, chuckling slightly as the young couple jumped at the sound of the older mans voice.

"We live together and work in the same building, it makes sense. If you can think of something better then I'm all ears, but if not, we have work to do... unless you're willing to give us the day off?" Harry asked, knowing the answer before the words had even left his mouth.

"Not a chance chance. We have the jockey case to work on, which we are still no closer to solving, and Nikki has her bones to work on."

"If you need a hand with your case, I'm home office certified. I trained in Johannesburg as a pathologist." Nikki offered, knowing herself how difficult her lovers job could be at times, having experienced probably more stressful cases during her brief time in pathology while in Johannesburg.

"Only if you're done with you're bones. I don't want you falling behind with your own work." Nikki smiled at this. It seemed, despite only knowing the man for 24 hours, Leo was already turning into a father figure for her, which, knowing how useless her own father was, she welcomed.


End file.
